"Aracruz brought progress. Funai*, the indians”. *Funai - Protection Agency for Indigenous Rights

Spreading works like that in billboards around Espírito Santo, the multinational corporation Aracruz Cellulose hopes to gain support from the general population to avoid the demarcation of 11 thousand hectares of indigenous land. The Minister of Justice Márcio Thomaz Bastos has approximately 4 days to sign a regulation declaring the area the property of the Tupinikim and Guarani communities, accused by Aracruz of not being true indigenous groups.

Besides the billboards, Aracruz has used local media to criminalise the indigenous movement. An example of that is the note written by the “entrepreneur and writer” Carlos Lindenberg Filho, one of the directors of Gazeta Television, a subsidiary of Globo TV in Espírito Santo. The multinational also gained the support from its workers through indirect threats of losing their jobs and the support of the local population in Aracruz County, where the people now react with fear of the supposed threats and violence from indigenous groups.

To write to the Minister of Justice Márcio Thomaz Bastos, to keep his word and sign the regulation to determine the limits of the Tupiniquim e Guarani land

artist Ana Amorim's letter to Gilberto Gil:: english and portuguese

Report made by Swedwatch - Swedish Pulp in Brazil: The case Veracel | Aracruz Billboards in Espírito Santo | Indymedia Brasil
Newspaper O Independente: Interview about Aracruz Celulose and Rede Alerta Contra o Deserto Verde (portuguese)

During the World Cup, the company launched a TV commercial under the slogan “Brazil doing well around the world”, using the song "Balé de Berlim", from the Minister of Culture, Gilberto Gil. In fact, the large majority of paper produced by Aracruz is exported. According to the geographer Simone Batista Ferreira, from Rede Alerta Contra o Deserto Verde, "99% is exported for the European production of disposable nappies, women’s pads and tissues, and not for the Brazilian production of paper to be used in schools, which is so much needed”. It destroys Brazilian natural reserves; evict traditional black communities, descendent from slaves [quilombolas] and indigenous groups from their land to “do really well abroad”.

In defence of the indigenous communities, the artist Ana Amorim wrote a letter to Gilberto Gil. The letter has information from a report made by Swedwatch - Swedish Pulp in Brazil: The case Veracel, which points to the damage caused by Aracruz in Brazil. She says that “before Aracruz’ expansion, in 1967, there were 40 Indigenous villages in the area Aracruz was operating. After Aracruz had established all its eucalyptus plantations in the area, there were only three villages left”. The artist suggests that the Minister Gilberto Gil should be more responsible before participating in the next campaign in favour of the company.

read the full letter:: english and portuguese

To write to the Minister of Justice Márcio Thomaz Bastos, to keep his word and sign the regulation to determine the limits of the Tupiniquim e Guarani land, please write to: gabinetemj@mjh.gov.br

Links to different organizations in Brazil supporting the indigenous groups:
Marcha Mundial das Mulheres repudiate the contributors with Aracruz comercial
CIMI, The Missionary Indigenous Council: Propaganda of Aracruz lie about carrying with brazilian children
Rede Alerta Contra o Deserto Verde: Tupinikim and Guarani keep actions for the land

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